


Scattered

by DessaPython



Series: Rising Problems [3]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters, Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: F/M, Heavy Angst, Jim needs a hug, Multi, a/b/o/ dynamics, someone still needs to help me tag, this will hopefully have a happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2020-12-29 01:50:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21130958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DessaPython/pseuds/DessaPython
Summary: Uh. Jim has a tough time. uhh... fights, make-ups, um... life-altering choices? I'm still bad at summaries.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok this chapter is short because it was super heavy for me to wright... I hope you enjoy! idk what counts as a trigger so here is a GENERAL TRIGGER WARNING... you know the saying its darkest before dawn... that's this fic... this chap and the next one are dark... christ lets jump in...

Honestly, as much of a bad rap as they got, sewers didn't smell all that bad, at least to her. Claire shuffled around on her bedroll to face her boyfriend. Sweat dotted his forehead, and she moved to blot it away with the hem of her sleeve. "Are you hurting again?" She asked, knowing he wasn't asleep.  
"...Yeah…" his voice shook as he spoke.  
"What is it this time?" She pressed gently.  
"…everything." He turned slightly and pressed his forehead to her shoulder, biting back a whimper.

* * *

"Hey…" Claire knocked on the wall of the tunnel that Nomura was resting in. A habit she knew was unneeded, but it was one thing she could hold onto from home.   
"Hello child, what is it?" The pink troll answered without opening her eyes.  
She glanced down at her hands, feeling guilty for disturbing her. "You wouldn't… happen to know if there's any way to help Jim?" Claire cracked her thumbs anxiously.  
The troll took a deep breath and sighed. "Its probably time to sit down and explain all of this now, isn't it?" She opened her eyes and sat up. "Is he awake? It's something you both should hear."   
Claire nodded, "He might be. If he is I'll, bring him." She spun on her heel and left. Nomura picked herself up off the ground and stepped over to her bag. She pulled the portable kettle and her thermos out and began looking for the herbs to make tea. The sound of footsteps made her ears twitch. So he was awake.  
"What is it, Nomura?" His voice was hoarse, shakey, and if she wasn't mistaken a bit deeper than it was before.   
"So, you were awake." She looked up from her bag, he looked like shit. And that was putting it nicely. His hair was damp with sweat, his arms were shaking, and his breathing was ragged.   
"Too uncomfortable to sleep…" There was no mirth to his response.   
"That sounds about right. Sit I'll make us a cup of tea and explain as best I can." She pulled the book she had borrowed out of her bag and opened it to a marked page. There were a few illustrations, anatomical drawings of trolls that looked, in a way, similar to Aaarrrgghh!. The picture was of a troll with a thick neck, massive arms, even larger forearms, and a broad chest. "This is an extinct race of Troll called the Grottanche, from the Rhône-Alpes in France, look familiar?" She pulled a herb from her bag, deciding it was adequate she dropped it into the kettle and poured water over it. As she pulled tinder for the fire, she started again. "They were one of the most humanoid trolls of the time. They made their tunnels in the cliff faces of the mountains, their arms were longer than normal for climbing and digging. They seemed to be a peaceful race overall, but since they were considered a warring tribe, they must have been able to hold their own." She shrugged and placed the kettle over the small flame, before turning back to the bag to find cups.   
"Warring tribe?" Claire asked for her partner, who didn't seem to have the energy to.   
"And thus begins the biology lesson." Nomura resigned herself to her awkward fate and sat the cups down in front of them. "Don't make this weirder than it needs to be. There are several different types of trolls. Working, Warring, and Literary are the most common three. You can probably guess what they all specialize in. Those titles can be applied to any troll or clan. For instance, despite my clan being Working, I am a Literary troll. So I specialize in knowledge of whatever kind."   
"So Blinky is a Litiaray troll, and Aaarrrgghh! is a Warring…" Claire mused.  
"Yes, except those two are not different from there clans. There are a few differences in body type, but we will stick to the one that is important. The Grottanche, being a Warring tribe, keep reproductive organs internally, including males. So if you still have your… bits… by the time this is over, they will look substantially different." Nomura was oddly glad she was already pink.   
"Great." Jim groaned, letting his head fall back and his horns clatter against the wall.  
"On top of that, Blinky mentioned you were developing scent glands?" Nomura opened the kettle to check the tea. Not done yet, she shut it again.   
"What?" Jim brought his head back up off the wall with some effort.  
"Sent glands are something that trolls, as a whole, have long since evolved passed. Though it seems Merlin's outdated knowledge of troll biology left you with an outdated body. There were what we called dynamics. You could be a male or a female, but your dynamic weighs in heavily. There were alphas, betas, and omegas. The alphas were most commonly males and omegas most commonly female, but every now and again, you would find a male omega and so on… The bulk of the population, however, was beta. If trolls nowadays were to identify as one of the three, it would be betas." Nomura explained, leaning back to rest on her hands.   
"How did-" Claire started but was silenced by a look from the pink troll.   
"Let me finish first, please. Omegas were breeders. They would have a heat every year that would last about two weeks. It was a tradition for the omegas to have a small group of other omegas and bettas to help them through the heat cycles until they found a mate. At which time, they would spend the cycle with there mate and, more often than knot, conceive. That was a pun that will go right over your heads… Most of the time, the mates of omegas were alphas. Alphas were the studs if you will. They would have what's called a rutt if they were not mated to an omega, the only difference being that if they found a mate, and said mate went into heat, it would trigger their rut. Now. Any questions?" Nomura hoped the answer would be no. Taking the kettle off the flame, she poured three cups and passed two to her visitors.  
"Why couldn't omegas mate with bettas?" Claire asked, her eyes wide and curious as she sipped her tea.  
"And that's the question I was hoping to just let you both read up on later. Omegas, being breeders, could never be satisfied by a betta. An alpha had something called a knot at the base of the penis; that was the only thing that could satisfy an omega in heat." She looked up from her kettle to see Claire turn just as pink as she was, and Jim began to take on a purple flush. "That's about the reaction I was expecting."  
Jim sat up fully and brought his hand to the book in front of him, turning it towards him a bit. "So I'm going to keep changing until I look like that…" he sat his near-empty cup of tea down next to the book.   
"And are either an alpha, beta, or omega. But only time will tell for the latter." Nomura surmised.   
"But it's most likely that he would be a beta, right? Since most trolls were betas." Claire reasoned.   
"In theory. But this is not natural, so who knows." Nomura's emerald eyes flicked over to the human.  
"I'm gonna… I need some air…" The hybrid stood and turned to leave. The two women watched him go.  
"Is there anything I can do to help him?" Claire asked, finally turning back to the changeling.  
"I can't answer that question… Though there is someone who might be able to." She tapped her claws on her knee in thought.

* * *

"Jim? Everything ok?" Hearing his mother's voice made his facade of being moderately alright shatter like glass. A whine choaked sob forced its way out of his mouth before he could respond with words. Reaching up with his other hand, he covered his face, unsure of who exactly he was trying to hide his tears from but still doing it anyway.   
"No." he eventually managed between ragged breaths and sobs. The hunter allowed himself to sink down the cold wall he had been leaning on till he was crouched on the floor. One hand still on his face, the other cradling the phone to his ear. Grateful that only the shadows were close enough to hear him.  
"What do you mean, no? What's going on, sweetie? You found that girl's parents, right?" Barbra spoke hurridly on the other end of the line, concern spiking at her son's apparent condition.  
Jim took a few deep breaths and continued, trying to hold back the distressed whine in his throat. "Yeah, no, we did… just… everything that happened after that…"   
"Well, kiddo, I'm not going anywhere, so spill." She said softly but firmly.   
Taking a minute to breathe, he explained everything that had happened since he had last spoken with his mother. He couldn't help getting more worked up as he spoke, eventually dissolving back into sobs and whines.  
"So now I'm changing, and it hurts." His voice cracked as he whipped more tears from his face. "It feels like someone stuck me on a taffy hook and just keeps pulling…"   
"Kiddo, you're gonna be fine." Barbra was immensely happy that this conversation was happening over the phone, making it far easier for her to keep a calm disposition to her son's situation. "Let's hope, though, that I never see Merlin again because I will personally show him how to use the Food Magic to dispose of body parts. And Jim, don't pay any mind to your father. He's an ass. We can now make it official." Barbra sat her clipboard down on the reception desk and walked into the break room, the phone still pressed to her ear and knuckles white as she shut the door. "Come home as soon as you can, ok?" She slipped, and her voice cracked. A pained whine sounded over the phone. "Toby has been working on a surprise for you. Aaarrrgghh! has helped quite a bit." She tried shifting the topic.  
He whimpered through his teeth, "I will." voice cracking as he spoke. A new wave of tears cascaded down his cheeks, and he sobbed, "I want to go home… I wanna sleep in my room… I wanna cook in my kitchen… Hell, I want to go to school and get all of the makeup work…" Jim shivered as he sobbed.   
"Baby… You come home once the trolls are settled." She took a deep breath to quell her rising helplessness. "I'll take a week off of work, and we can just relax and have fun. We can go paintballing, swimming, you name it. You, me, your friends, no Trollhunter business. No family drama… No Merlin drama. Just eighteen-year-old shenanigans. Ok?" She pulled a mug down from the cupboard, trying not to drop it with how shaky her hands were.   
"Yeah… yeah, I'd like that…" Jim managed between bouts of tears and whines.   
"No problem, sweety… Now, its the middle of the day! Go get some rest." She tried to sound upbeat as she spoke. Even forcing a smile, knowing full well, a smile can be herd and that that was what he needed right now.   
"I will…" his voice cracked again as he forced his whines down. "Thanks for listening, Mom."  
"Thank you for calling honey. But call me more often, yeah? I'm gonna be bugging Claire now to until you're feeling better." She kept the smile plastered to her face as she added creamer and sugar to the cup.  
"Yeah, I will…" His voice was quiet now. She figured due to exhaustion.  
"I love you and miss you, kiddo."  
"Me too, Mom…"   
"I'll talk to you later. Bye, honey."  
"Bye, Mom." He couldn't quite hold back the wine as he heard the click signaling that his mother was no longer on the line. Still clutching the phone to his ear, he broke back down into sobs.   
Across the country, a mother sat at a table in her works lounge. Her hands wrapped tightly around a shaking cup of hot coffee. Silent tears streaming down her face. 

* * *

AN: so this would be part one of chap one kinda deal? otherwise chap one was gonna be wayyyy to heavy for my liking. but hopefuly keeping them a bit shorter will let me get them up quicker! thanks for reading! uhhh... i dont remember if there are any eggs in this one... nope none. sorry. Hope you liked it!

OH! wait! not really a reffrence to anything fictional, but the name for troll clan Jim will soon be a full-blown part of, the Grottanche, is inspired by a real place! Grotte de Choranche is a cave system in the Rhône-Alpes in France! beautiful place. (10/10 will visit again) beautiful white/grey cliffs with green plateaus... i could gush about the place for hours... i dont think the hyperlink will work but here, coppy paste this if youre curious... 

<https://www.visites-nature-vercors.com/fr/choranche/decouvrez-choranche/>

granted its all in french... but pretty pictures ehh?

finally, the Grottanche ( Gro{roll the r}-tawe-shh ) are based on Silvermender's art(the one who worked on the concept art for troll Jim). god the teeth... i love the teeth... 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oiii ok. there is something kinda gross in this chapter. Jim essentially gets baby birded by Claire. now that that's out of the way, IM SO SORRY. I managed to write myself into a box with this story and I only just figured out how to fix it while keeping the parts I liked. like all the other chapters, this one bound to have errors, if there's anything massive ill go back and change it. but I also need to go touch up old chapters. cuz I re-read those and hot damn that needs some tending to.   
enjoy, and feel free to leave your thoughts and critiques below!

“So when do we leave?” Claire stepped back into Nomura's alcove, staff in hand and a small bag tossed over her shoulder. 

“Now if you like.” The changeling pulled the glamour mask she held down over her face. A moment later she was her old human self. “Though you need to bring something of literary value with you. It could be anything.” She picked up her bag, heavy with the borrowed book tucked inside.

“Like…” Claire paused, rummaging through her bag before pulling out a worn pamphlet. “this map of the forest we went through a way back?” 

“Perfect.” her companion nodded. “Do you think you could warp us to the caves we were at before? That would be the quickest way to get there.” 

“Of course. I have been practicing after all.” Claire smiled and spun her staff, grateful for the distraction.

“Going somewhere?” a weary voice made Claire spin on her heel. Jim stood, his hand on the wall to steady himself, eyes red and puffy, he looked exhausted.

“Oh, hey. Yeah, we were gonna be gone for a bit.” Claire responded softly.

“Ok. I'm gonna try and get some rest…” he pulled his hand from the wall and took another step towards Claire, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. He nuzzled the top of her head and made a noise.

She held on a moment before pulling back to look at him. “Hey, you ok?”

“No, but I'm a bit better than I was.” he gave her a weak smile and let her go.

“Good… Get some rest.” She paused as he turned to walk away. “I love you.” 

“Love you too.” he said over his shoulder, “I'll see you when you get back.”

Nomura placed a hand lightly on the girl's shoulder. “Let's go then. Follow me.” 

* * *

“Back so soon?” the gilded knocker on the door taunted. “And you've brought a friend with you, hmmm? She's human,” it observed, gold eyes rolling in there sockets before settling on Claire. 

“Yes, a mage under my guidance. I take responsibility for her. Let us in.” Nomura pulled her mask off her face. Grateful to be out of the sun and away from prying eyes. The walk from the caves hadn't taken more than forty-five minutes since she now knew where she was going. 

If the thing could have huffed it would have. “Still no sense of humor…” The door swung open, Claire stood in awe at the room. It was filled wall-to-wall with glittering objects and trinkets. The table in the corner was covered in books, quills, and other miscellaneous objects. There was a small crackling fire that sat within a circular hearth that looked to her like a massive mouth. In front of it was a plush chair where a troll who looked to be older than Vendel himself sat.

Zenubaba turned to face them, “Nomura? Back to return my book?” She smiled, revealing all of her chipped, cracked, and yellowed teeth. 

“Of course elder. But I also come to ask a favor, would you allow my apprentice access to the library? We have research to do.” Nomura asked graciously. Claire got the feeling this was a situation where she should leave the speaking to Nomura as much as she could. 

“Hmmm, it is against tradition to allow a human the knowledge of troll kind, let alone to the wealth of knowledge housed here!” Zenubaba mumbled before continuing in a jovial voice, “But… you know me, be damned with the old traditions. Enter child. Learn all you can, from the books and from your mentor.” the old troll grinned at the girl. 

“Thank you, elder.” Claire bowed her head.

“We do have one question to ask.” Nomura took a tentative step towards the table, picking up a quill pen and rolling it between her fingers. 

“And that is?” The elder crooked a brow.

“What do you know of using magic to turn a human into a troll?” The changeling put the pen down and returned her attention to the host. 

“I know that there is no way to stop such a spell.” Zenubaba snorted and continued. “Only ways to cover it up and make it less painful, as is the same with all transfiguration spells.” 

“How can we make it less painful?” Claire couldn't help but ask, her interest piqued at the thought of helping Jim. 

“I assume you have brought something to add to the library?” The elder troll crooked a brow.

“Yes.” Claire quickly dug through her bag, producing the map a moment later. 

Zenubaba nodded and gently took the map from her before waddling over to the table and scrawling something on a note. “Then find this book in the library child. It will give you a number of different transfiguration spells and how to go about making them, casting them, and how to aid the process.” she paused briefly before continuing more softly. “I take it you know someone whos been altered?”

Claire sucked in a breath and hesitated before answering. “Yes.” 

“A shame then… more often than not the altered retain there mind but can never come to terms with their new appearance. It tends to drive them mad.” The old troll hummed. “The one who was changed, I take it they are close to you child?”

The girl's face dropped. “Yes.” 

“Give them as much support as you can. It's a painful process. Go find the book. It will give you more information than you need.” Zenubaba nodded towards the door on the other side of the room.

“Thank you, elder.” Claire made her way to the door, glancing over at the changeling with a questioning look.

“Go on, I will catch up with you in a moment.” Nomura nodded. At that, Claire opened the door and stepped into the library. When the door shut, the changeling turned back to the elder. 

“Nomura, is the changed person close to you as well?” The stout troll grinned.

“You could tell?” 

“It's written all over your face.” 

Nomura sighed. “I do care for him. More than I would like.” She grit her teeth and shook her head. “I would imagine that this is going to complicate his life more.” 

“It might,” The elder paused, “it might make his life easier. Though I would imagine finding a mate would be difficult.”

“Hopefully he presents as a beta. But either way, she is his mate.” 

“That does pose a problem.” Zenubaba tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully before her grin returned. “Unless she decides to alter herself.” 

Nomura's eyes went wide as she looked to the librarian. “He wouldn't have that.”

“It's not up to him now is it?” Her grin never wavered.

“No… no, it's not. And if we knew how to do it less painfully.” the changeling conceded.

“No, not less painfully, you would only be able to mitigate the pain. If she decides to though, she should do it here, where you and I could help her through it.” 

“We shall see…”

* * *

“Claire! Thank goodness you're back!” Blinky rushed up to them as Claire’s portal shut behind the two women.

His concern proved contagious as panic piqued in her voice. “Why what's wrong?!” 

“We cant wake Master Jim. He seems to be in a lot of pain right now.” Blinky explained in a rush before making a motion to follow him and hurried off down the sewers hall.

Nomura and Claire exchanged a worried glance before following after the blue troll. “Good thing we gathered those ingredients then. Do you want to make the poultice or should I?” Nomura asked as they followed.

“You,” Claire said between breaths. “I don't want to mess up on something that could help Jim.” They rounded a corner and came to a screeching halt. There was a large green troll kneeling next to Jim, she was using a damp cloth to dab at the hunter’s forehead. Blinky stood to the side, worry dripping from his brow. 

“Very well.” Nomura took a half step back and kneeled. Pulling her bag off her back and rummaging through it for the items they would need. 

A moment later Claire was at his side, holding his hand in hers. “Jim? Mi amor?” The green troll hummed and held the cloth out to Claire. After a worried glance up Claire took it from her, the troll stood to leave. “Thank you.” She called after her. Receiving no response other than a tilt of the horns, Claire turned her attention back to Jim. “Can you hear me?” There was a faint pressure on her hand, she looked down to find his hand clasped firmly but gently around hers. Her heart lept. He was here, he could hear her. 

Forcing down her excitement and worry she turned back to Nomura. “He squeezed my hand, so he's some level of consciousness. Pass me the kava kava?” When the strip of bark was given to her she began ripping it into bite-sized pieces. “Ok here,” She put one in his mouth, “chew and swallow.” He made a face and weakly spat the bark out. Claire's stomach dropped at the sight. There was more blood than saliva on the piece. Her demeanor wavered and her voice cracked as she spoke. “Mi amor, you need to chew this. It will help, I promise.” She gave him another with the same result. Sighing in frustration Claire steeled herself. “Ok, here we go.” She popped three pieces into her mouth and chewed, before leaning forward and kissing him. She held him there but he didn't open. Reluctantly she pinched his nose and waited. He struggled weakly beneath her before opening his mouth. Claire pushed down the guilt welling in her chest and held him there until he swallowed the paste. He gasped for breath when she pulled back, allowing her a glimpse inside his mouth. His gums were red and bleeding, some of his teeth were gone entirely and new ones had begun to cut through his gums. No wonder he couldn't chew. 

“Poultice.” Nomura’s voice brought her out of her daze. “I'll make more and steep some tea.”The changeling spoke softly and passed the enchanted ball of herbs and spices to the young witch. 

“Thank you.” Claire felt herself say out of habit. Her hands shook slightly as she pressed the poultice to Jim’s neck. She was here, but she felt almost as if she were a million miles away. Tremors tore through his body as she mopped the sweat from his brow. She duly noted that he was sweating less and less. 

Blinky took a tentative step towards Nomura from his quiet spot in the corner. “What's happening to him?” He asked in a whisper.

“Most transfiguration spells are gradual, then sudden, then gradual.” Nomura turned from her work to face Gynt. “Like this. He was in moderate pain while his body geared up for the change, and now it's hitting him all at once. By the time this is over and he comes to he will look very different.” Blinky noted the somber look on her face but decided not to push it. 

“Is there anything we can do?”

“Other than what Claire and I are already doing,” She took a breath, “no, unfortunately. You could, however, go find more of these ingredients." She passed him a notebook, "Be them outside or from the others. Anything more would help. Chances are Gynt won't be moving tonight.” She turned back to assembling the second poultice.

Claire pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly wrote up a text. Thankfully there was cell reception in the sewers, even if it wasn't great. 

_ 'Dr. Lake? Does Jim have anything that soothes him? '  _ She hit send and waited a moment then, deciding to be more specific she wrote another. ' _ Something you used to do when he was little perhaps?'  _ The sound of his ragged breathing was like a saw through the stone. She shuddered and pressed the poultice onto the other side of his neck. Claire jumped slightly when her phone chimed. Before she could read the first message another came through.

_ 'I used to run my fingers through his hair. It would calm him down and put him to sleep.'  _

_ 'Is everything OK?' _

Claire chewed on her lip, trying to keep herself from spiraling into tears. ' _ Merlin cast another spell on Jim. He's in a lot of pain right now, to the point where he's completely out of it.'  _ She sent the message off and resumed typing. ' _ All we can do is give him things to dull the pain and wait it out.'  _ Tears stung the corners of her eyes. ' _ I just wanted to know if there was anything else I could do.'  _ She blinked and the tears began to silently roll down her cheeks. Landing on her hunter's trembling shoulder. 

_ 'Claire, honey, you're being there with him is help enough. With how everything is changing in his life he needs a constant. Right now you are that constant. That pillar that is keeping him grounded to his humanity. He needs you, Claire. You are doing more for him than you know.  _ _ Keep me posted on how he's doing.'  _

_ 'I will.' _

* * *

The world was spinning when he came to. The Trollhunter shut his eyes again. Trying to stop his brain from feeling like it was rocking freely around in his skull. When he opened them again, the sensation was… tolerable. He turned his head slightly only for the reeling to come back tenfold. If he had to describe it, he would have said it was like moving through jello. Finally, his senses cleared enough to make out the shape laying on his shoulder. “Claire?” He picked up his head slightly, only to shut his eyes again and take a deep breath to steady himself. “Whatss-”

“Shhhh…” A soft hiss stole his attention. Nomura leaned against the wall of the sewer, her green eyes lacking their usual shine. “She’s been awake for seventeen hours helping you through… all that.” The troll whispered.

“Helping me?” Jim raised a hand to his head in a physical attempt to stop the swimming of his mind. “What do you mean? I-” He tried to sit up, only to sway and nearly fall onto his sleeping partner. 

“Take it easy you're still coming out of it.” the pink changeling hissed a bit louder.

“What happened?” Jim tried not to stumble over his words or actions as he turned to face her again.

“Spells like that, that change the subject's appearance, they tend to start slow, then very rapidly change the subject then slow down and taper off…” She closed her eyes, “You are finally at that third part.” 

“So I look like a full troll now.”

“No. You are a troll now, and now, if you wouldn't mind, I'm going to rest as well.”

“Nomura… thank you.” 

“Hmm”

He stayed sitting, watching his girlfriend sleep. Lifting his arm to reach her, he realized his arm was… passed her. A sick taste bloomed in the back of his throat, he swallowed it. He had gotten used to it once, he could again. 

Deciding vertigo had passed enough to stand, he risked it. Before he could stretch to his full hight his horns collided with the ceiling of the sewer, he flinched and bent back over. Ice began creeping through his stomach. How much had he changed?

He placed his hand on the wall and took a step, He stumbled. His torso reeling forward. Catching himself, he bit back the panic that was welling up in his chest. He needed to get outside. He took another step, larget this time. 

When he reached the entrance that the group had used the sun was high in the sky. There wasn't much shade outside the mouth of the sewer but the pine trees provided enough for him to stand to his full height. Trying not to look down, he stood and stretched. Raising his arms into the branches above and knocking several pine needles loose. He pulled a few out of his hair and smiled softly. His mind drifting to the times when he and Toby would stick pine needles into the dead skin around there nails when they were kids, pretending they had claws. He didn't need to pretend anymore. His eyes wandered over his hands. They matched now. Though not five and five. He had eight long black claws that could probably rival Nomura’s if he let them grow. He looked to his arm, there was a patch? Maybe more like a tuft of fur over his elbow, a glance revealed a relative match on the other side. He sighed and dropped his arms and the pine needles. A new sensation caught his attention, he moved his fingers. Just his fingers. He felt the light scraping of his nails on his knees. Looking down confirmed it. His hands at rest were level with his knees. His breathing picked up. The ice in his stomach began creeping up his throat. He made a noise, one he didn't recognize. A taloned hand came up to cover his mouth as tears broke free. Jim let himself stumble back towards the tree, sinking down along its trunk, biting back more unnatural sobs as he felt bark scrape up his back but not hurt. His inevitable gaze down at himself revealed something else, his shoulders were nearly twice as broad as his waist. Panic set in again, sending a new wave of tears down his face. He sat on the grass, his eyes trained on a bug by his leg. His leg which now had fur on the backs of the calves, and toes to match his fingers. Eventually, he collected himself enough to pull his phone out of its pocket in his cargo shorts, which were now significantly tighter. And dialed.

The phone rang three times before there was a click and a familiar voice sent a flood of relief through him, “Jimbo? What's up man you never call around this time.”

“Tobes I-”

“Whoa, dude, what happened to your voice?”

“Merlin…” Jim thought about how to explain his new change, “he did something to me… Nomura says I'm a full-blown troll… I just…”

“Dude hold up. Shit went down with Merlin and you didn't tell me?! Deets man!” 

Jim huffed, it was as close to a laugh as he was able to produce right now and set to explaining.

“Holy... holy-ever-loving-alien-shit what is wrong with that guy… more on the alien's bit in a minute. How are you holding up? Gotten a good look at yourself yet?”

“Yes and no… I haven't looked in a mirror yet but even without one, I'm huge! And seriously disproportioned…” He added sourly.

“What do you mean?”

“My arms, when I stand straight up, reach down to my knees. My shoulders are huge, my hands are huge, I have claws Tobes. Legitimate claws!”

“Did you guys figure out what kind of troll you were?“

“Yeah… some extinct troll from France. They were a climbing species that lived on cliff faces…” 

“So try climbing! Dude that would make you a total boss at forest paintball.” 

“Yeah… I'll give it a shot. Speaking of mom wants to go paintballing when I get back. You're coming with. No ifs ands or buts about it.”

“You won't hear any complaints from me!”

“Now you gonna explain to me?” 

“Explain what?”

“The aliens thing? You've started hanging out with Eli haven't you?” Jim smiled, completely ignoring the nagging sense of dread in the back of his mind.

“Yes but ok that's soooo not the point.” Toby paused as he listened to Jim laugh, actually laugh. He sighed in relief. “Point is there are aliens in Arcadia.” 

“Ok, what?” Jim asked after coming over his bout of giggles. 

Toby explained everything, starting with the two strange exchange students.

“Ok, so you've had your share of crazy…” Jim concluded at the end of his best friend's rant. 

“Definitely. But!” Excitement rang clear over the phone “Despite all that Arrg! And I did manage to rustle up a surprise for when you get back!” 

“Tobes you didn't have to…”

“Any news on when you are coming back?”

“As soon as huma- as soon as physically possible. I miss you, I miss mom, hell I miss Strickler… I just wanna be home Tobes…” Jim let his shoulders sag a bit.

“I get it. Jimbo?”

“Yeah?”

“This is the first time you've called me in like 3 weeks. Not ok dude. I expect a call like every other day.” 

“Sorry sorry… you know how I get.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, grimacing. 

“Jim,” Toby said firmly, “we want to hear from you. You're not bothering anyone. You're not burdening anyone. You're not annoying anyone. We miss you and love you so call us! Your mother and I worry.” He paused, “That was a weird thing to say.” 

Jim chuckled and continued, “I know… thank you Tobes...” 

“No problem dude. Now I gotta get back to class. Ms. Janith is probably about ready to give me a year's worth of detention.” 

“Alright… talk to you later Tobes.” 

“Right! Later Jimbo!” 

Jim held the phone to his ear for a while after the line went dead, not quite ready to let go of his friend yet. 

* * *

“Are we ready to move then? If we make haste we may be able to reach the new Heartstone by sunrise.” Blinky was buzzing with excitement.

“We might.” Claire looked up from her map and over to her hunter, “Do you feel up to it?”

“Yeah, let's go.” Jim didn't meet her eyes. Instead, he was focused on bouncing on the ball of one foot at a time, like a child in new shoes.

“You seem peppy.” Claire snickered at his apparent energy.

“I don't know… I wanna get outside and run.” He still didn't look at her.

Claire turned back to the six-eyed elder, “Blinky, I'll go with Jim and scout the area out ahead. You get the group together and start marching them towards the stone. When we find it we will come back and help you guys along.” 

“With pleasure!” He turned to the crowd of slowly rousing trolls, “You heard the navigator! Up! We head out in thirty minutes!”

Claire tucked the map back into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Twirling her staff in one hand she asked, “Ready to go?” 

“Yeah, let's get out of here.” 

* * *

“You're slow!” Jim called back to her. The moon was nearly full above them as they flew through the treetops. Jim felt lighter out here like he could breathe. The sewers were stifling. 

“No, your legs are just six inches longer now!” Claire laughed and shot back at him, nearly catching up. 

“Get on!” Jim half turned his head to her.

Claire grabbed his horn when she got close enough and landed her feet on his back. “WooHoooo!” She yelled as they sprung from tree to tree. 

Jim stopped suddenly, swinging himself around the top of the tree-like it was a pole. 

“Think its in there?” Claire panted behind him. 

“Somethings in there. Hold on.” He lept down, landing a few meters away from the mouth of the cavern. The cave was dark and had a fairly small opening. Jim ignored the pit in his stomach as he dropped to all fours and made his way inside.

“Can you see?” Claire’s eyes were peeled wide but she couldn't make anything out in the darkness. 

“Yeah, I can see fine.” Came his curt response.

The pair wound there way down into the network of caverns. The cool air made Clare shiver and hold tighter to her hunter, burying her cheek into the scruff of fur on his neck. 

Claire had to blink a few times to be sure it wasn't her eyes playing tricks on her, the tunnel was slowly growing lighter. Eventually, the pair turned a corner and above them towered a Heartstone. The cavern was massive, and the stone was partly embedded in the wall behind it, making it more of a towering crystal vein through the wall than a stand-alone gem. “Holy guacamole…” Clair breathed, “its… beautiful.” 

“And it's my new workshop so I will ask you both to leave. Now.” A crotchety voice drew their attention away from the stone. 

Jim’s lip curled to show his teeth, “You-” 

“What do you mean this is your workshop?” Claire dropped off Jim's back and made her way up to Merlin. 

“I mean, this place is the crossing of three separate leylines, has a natural source of light, and is easily cloaked from view. Therefore it is a suitable place for me to work.” He gestured to the cavern. 

Jim snarled, “You mean its the ideal place for refugee trolls that you took out of spite.” 

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, it is not for you to decide. Now leave.” The old man made a shoo-ing motion with one of his hands as he turned his back to them. 

“Make me,” Jim growled. 

“Excuse me?” The wizard turned back to him.

“I said. Fucking make me you asshole.” Jim spat through his teeth, shoulders tensed and his hackles up.

“Jim-” Claire glanced wildly between the two, unsure of how to deescalate the situation.

“If I need to I will.” The wizard narrowed his eyes.

With a bellow, Jim charged him. The elder wizard manifested a crackling whip of raw magic and lashed out, missing his target entirely. The troll grabbed him, hoisting him up by the throat and squeezing. Merlin’s whip sputtered out of existence as his hands flew up to the massive hand around his throat. 

“Jim!” Claire rushed over to him, “Jim! STOP! What are you doing?! This isn't like you!”

Merlin's movements slowed as he failed to take in new air. Eventually, they stopped, his arms falling limp. With one last menacing growl, Jim dropped the unconscious wizard to the floor. 

“He took everything, Claire. Everything! Now he's trying to take there chance at a normal life. And I'm not about to let him do that!” The Trollhunter seethed. 

“Not everything,” Claire said quietly.

“What?” Jim blinked, finally looking down at her. 

“Not. Everything. Jim.” She said, louder this time, anger seeping into her voice.

“What do we still have? Our chances of being normal are shot. White picket fence? Blown to the fucking wind. Highschool? College? A Job? A family? Everything is fucked because of him and the stupid amulet!” Frustration and rage melded in his voice, his breathing was ragged and his frame shook from the adrenaline. 

“He couldn't split us up. I’m still here.” She spat back.

Jim looked down at her and took a half step back, to stunned to say anything.

“And if you're gonna be a total dick then I don't want to be around you. I'm going back.” She spun on her heel and made her way back to the darkened exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written body dysphoria before or experienced it myself. so if you have or know anything about it please let me know! I'm working kinda blind with this one, unfortunately. 
> 
> either way, this story has a bit to go! we haven't gotten to one of the parts that I'm most looking forward to yet if I had to guess that might happen in two or 3 more chapters. 
> 
> thank you for taking the time to read this I hope you enjoyed!


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